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Fire at Port Angeles' tallest building December 9, 2003
The fire was reported about 3:30 a.m. in the basement. Smoke covered the downtown area. Firefighters knocked down the flames and were still cleaning up hours later. From the outside, there was no visible damage to the structure. Traffic in downtown Port Angeles was blocked by the fire trucks. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. Investigators did not say what may have caused the fire. RELATED STORY: PA Elks building damaged by fire December 9th, 2003 (Port Angeles) – A fire overnight in the Elks building in downtown
Port Angeles. Crews are still on the scene this morning. Smoke from
the fire filled downtown area as crews battled the blaze at the historic
building. Port Angeles Fire Chief Dan McKeen says the fire may have
started in the back of a photo business on the ground floor. There
is heavy damage on that floor. The fire also burned into the next
story up, causing damage to the billiards and card rooms for the Elks
Club. The third-floor ballroom sustained some smoke and water damage.
McKeen says crews are still sifting through the debris trying to pinpoint
the cause. He says no one was hurt in the fire that was reported about
three o’clock this morning. Lincoln Street remains closed downtown
and power is still shut off for all businesses on the block. A damage
estimate has not been released yet. At one time the city’s entire
fire department was called out as was members of the neighboring Clallam
County Fire District Two. The Elks building is the tallest building
in Port Angeles and was built during the first part of last century.
It houses a number of businesses, a church administration office as
well as the Elks club. |